Teens from PA gather for Miss Teen of Pennsylvania finals

68 teen scholars compete to represent state, win scholarship

The six finalists in the Miss Teen of Pennsylvania competition Sunday at Shippensburg Univeristy were, first row from left, first runner up Cecelia Weingart, Miss Teen of Pennsylvania Julianna Franzino, second runner up Claire Kirsch and, back row from left, Carly DiPietro, Francesca Bower and Emaleigh Mowry. (Kerri Fleegle — Public Opinion)

SHIPPENSBURG &GT;&GT; A $1,000 scholarship was on the line Sunday afternoon during the finals of the Miss Teen of Pennsyvlania Scholarship and Recognition Program, held at Shippensburg University.

Sixty-eight girls from across the state, including two from Franklin County, competed in the final day, which included a poise and walk segment to show off gowns, and multiple interview segments for the top six merit finalists.

The winner of the scholarship and opportunities to represent Pennsylvania across the country was Julianna Franzino, 16, from Greensburg. First runner-up went to Cecelia Weingart, 17, from Newcastle, and second runner-up went to Claire Kirsch, 18, from Clymer.

During the interview portions of the program, which included three separate question-and-answer sessions, Franzino discussed representing Pennsylvania as a large, diverse state and empowering the girls around her.

She talked about wanting to spread awareness to girls that they can just be themselves and not give in to pressures to all be the same.

"I want to try to make girls realize that looks aren't everything," Franzino said during the final questions. "While you don't believe in yourself, others do believe in you."

As for the local contestants, Corrine Statler, 15, from Greencastle, took home a special recognition award for her completion of the poise and personality portion of the competition, which focused on elegance.

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"It was amazing, I got to meet really great girls and kind of show off who I was," Statler said about her time at the weekend- long competition."

A theme that appeared throughout the competition was the bonds that the girls made over the weekend.

"I would say my friendships," Statler said of the most important thing she's taking from the competition. "We're going to try to get a reunion maybe in the next month."

She also said she was lucky to be in the top 68 from across the state, and she had heard there were thousands of applications. She felt honored to be one of the few selected to compete.

Cynthia Saunders, 16, of Mercersburg, was the other Franklin County representative in Sunday's competition.

The program is careful to state that it is not a beauty pageant, but rather a scholarship program.

"Candidates are judged on the basis of scholastic accomplishment, achievement and service to school and community, personal development, judge's interview, general awareness and poise and personality projection," the program states.

Organizers also believe that every other girl receives enrichment while competing.

"We are dedicated to recognizing and developing the outstanding qualities and leadership abilities possessed by these superior young woman," the program states.

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